Liquid dispenser for refrigerator cabinets



Sept. 4, 1956 F. B. ANDERSON ET AL 2,761,288 LIQUID DISPENSER FOR REFRIGERATOR CABINETS Flled Aug. 16, 1954 T. L 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1.; Wu"! TIE-j IN V EN TOR-3. Hope/v65 B /4/m5s0/v By JOSEPH M Kama/ 55 Sept. 4, 1956 B. ANDERSON ET AL 2,761,288

LIQUID DISPENSER FOR REFRIGERATOR CABINETS Filed Aug. 16, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. Hope/v05 5f Abs 05250 BY Jess/ y A. /(O/VFS am w, w

A Trap/viva Se t. 4, 1956 F. B. ANDERSON ET AL 2,761,288

LIQUID DISPENSER FOR REFRIGERATOR CABINETS Filed Aug. 16, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN Tom United States Patent LIQUID DISPENSER FOR REFRIGERATOR CABINETS Florence B. Anderson, Winnetka, and Joseph H. Konefes, Lihertyville, Ill., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Amana Refrigeration, Inc., Amana, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Application August 16, 1254, Serial No. 450,072 28 Claims. (61. 62-89) This invention relates generally to refrigerator cabinets and refers more particularly to improvements in liquid dispensing devices of the type installed on refrigerator cabinets.

It is an object of this invention to provide a liquid dispensing device capable of being installed on a door of a refrigerator cabinet so that it may be operated to dispense refrigerated liquid from a position at the outer side of the cabinet while the door is closed and does not interfere with the normal operation of the door.

it is another object of this invention to provide a dispensing device capable of being installed on the door or on one wall of the refrigerator cabinet and designed to occupy a minimum of the usable storage area within the cabinet.

it is still another 0 a dispensing device of the above general type composed of a relatively few simple parts capable of being inexpensively manufactured; assembled and installed.

The foregoing as well as other objects will be made more apparent as this description proceeds especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary front elevational View of a refrigerator cabinet having a dispensing device embodying the features of this invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 2 and showing the parts in different positions; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a part of the dispensing device.

In the drawings, the numeral indicates a refrigerator cabinet wall including a door structure 11. cordance with conventional practice, the door structure 11 has an outer wall 12 and an inner wall 13 spaced laterally from the wall 12 to provide a space of generous depth for accommodating insulating material 14.

The outer wall 12-has a vertically elongated opening therethrough andan insert 16 in the form of a housing is installed within the opening 15. The insert has. a base 1*? positioned midway between the outer wall 12 and inner wall 13, and has side walls 18 which extend outwardly to the marginal edges of the opening 15. A frame in. the form of an escutcheon 1% is secured to the outer surface of the outer wall. 12 and provides a finish molding around the insert 16. The arrangement is such that the base 17 of theinsert 1.6 forms in eifect a continuation of the outer wall 12 of the door structure 11.

Removably supported on the inner wall 13 of the door structure 11: by suitable hangers is a liquid retaining receptacle ltl h-aving a bottom wall 21 and having an outlet opening 22 inthe bottom wall. In practice, a hanger is secured to the inner surface of the inner wall 13 of the door 11 at each end of the receptacle 20, and each hanger cooperates withthe adjacent end wall. of the reeject of this invention to provide r In acceptacle 20 to removably hold the latter in assembled relationship with the door structure 11. The hangers and the manner in which the latter removably support the receptacle 26 form no part of this invention and hence are not shown. In any case, the receptacle 20 is removably mounted on the inner wall of the door structure 1.1 at an elevation such that the bottom wall 21 is positioned adjacent the top of the insert 16. The top of the receptacle 20 is open and is normally closed by a cover 20 removably hinged along its outer edge on the receptacle in any suitable manner.

The outlet opening 22 is surrounded by an annular depending flange 24 which forms a seat for a valve 25. The valve 25 comprises a plate 26 provided intermediate its opposite ends with upstanding laterally spaced ears 27 pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 231 carried by lugs 27a extending downwardly from the bottom wall 21 of the receptacle. A sealing disk 29 of resilient material is secured to the outer end of the plate 26 in a position to engage the flange or seat 24 and close the outlet opening 22 in one position of the valve plate 26. The plate 26 is biased to the closed position aforesaid by a spring 3t) coiled around the pivot pin 28 and having the free ends respectively engaging the underside of the bottom wall 21 and the rear end of the. plate 26. The arrange ment is such that the spring 31 is held under tension and normally holds the disk 29 in sealing engagement with the annular seat 24 to close the outlet. opening 22. A flange 21a extends downwardly from the bottom 21 of the receptacle 20 and normally conceals the valve 25 and associated parts.

The outer wall of the door structure and more particularly the base 17 of the insert 16 has an opening therethrough aligned with openings in the insulation and inner wall 13. The aforesaid openings are positioned. adjacent the upper end of the insert 16 below the bottom wall 21 of the receptacle 20. A sleeve 31 extends through the openings in the door structure 11 and has a flange 32 innersurface of the wall 13. The flange 32. has integral projections 33 which extend outwardly' from the flange 32 through suitable openings in the wall 13 and are engaged. by spring type fasteners 34..

The outer end of the sleeve 31 projects beyond the base 17 of the insert 16 and. carries a gasket 35 which engages the edges of the base 17 surrounding the opening through said base. The inner end of the sleeve 31 projects for some distance below the bottom wall 21 of the receptacle 20 and is open at the top to expose the outlet opening 22.

Supported within the sleeve 31 for sliding movement lengthwise of the latter is a spout 36 in the form of a trough having a bottom wall 37, side walls 38 and a wall 39 at the outer end thereof. The spout or trough 36 is of a length to extend from a point spaced outwardly beyond the base 17 of the insert 16 to a. point spaced inwardly from the outlet opening 22 which is located to discharge liquid directly into the inner end of the trough. The bottom wall 37 of the trough or spout is inclined downwardly from the inner end to the outer end so that liquid discharged from the outlet opening 22 into the trough at the inner end of the latter flows by the force of gravity to the front wall 39 of the trough.

The bottom wall 37 of the trough or spout has a depending rib 40 which extends lengthwise of the spout 36 and slidably engages the bottom wall of the sleeve 31 to guide the spout throughout its movement in opposite directions relative to the sleeve 31. The spout 36 is yieldably retained in assembled relationship with the sleeve 31 by a spring 41 supported on inwardly directed offset 42 of a side wall of the spout 36. The spring has an intermediate coiled part 43 and has open return bent intermediate the ends overlying. the.

movement of the spout ends respectively straddling said side wall of the spout 36. The arrangement is such that the coiled part 43 of the spring 41 may engage a depending flange a of the receptacle 20 to limit the extent of outward sliding movement of the spout 36 relative to the sleeve 31. It is apparent, however, that while the coiled part 43 of the spring 41 cooperates with the flange 20a to limit outward 43 may be readily flexed downwardly to permit assembly and disassembly of the spout 36.

The trough or spout 36 is normally urged to its outermost position (Figure 2) by the spring 30 previously described. In this connection it will be noted that the valve plate 26 has laterally spaced depending lugs 44 positioned for engagement by an integral upstanding lug 37a on the spout 36 adjacent the inner end thereof. The arrangement is such that inward movement of the spout 36 from its outermost position shown in Figure 2. swings the valve against the action of the spring to open the outlet opening 22 in the bottom wall 21 of the receptacle 20. Thus, liquid from the receptacle 11 is discharged into the spout 36 or trough and flows outwardly through the door 11 along the downwardly inclined bottom wall 37 of the trough.

The liquid flowing outwardly through the spout 36 is discharged through an opening 45 formed in the outer wall 39. The discharge opening 45 is normally closed by a valve 46 having a hood 47 provided with an outer Wall 48 overlying the Wall 39 at the outer side of the latter and having a pad or valve element 49 of resilient material engageable with an annular seat 49a surrounding the discharge opening 45. The top of the wall 48 is curved inwardly and terminates in a depending inner wall 50 which overlies the wall 39 in spaced relationship to the inner side of the wall 39. In addition, the hood 47 has side wall portions 51 that project inwardly from the outer wall 48.

' The side wall portions 51 are respectively pivoted by pins 52 to the side walls of the spout 36 to permit swinging movement of the hood or valve 46 in directions to open and close the discharge opening 45. The valve 46 is biased to its closed position (Figure 2.) by a spring 53 coiled intermediate its ends and having one end clipped over the top of the outer wall 39. The other end of the spring 53 engages the lower end of the inner wall 50 in a manner to yieldably urge the valve 46 to its closed position.

As shown in Figure 2 of the drawings the side wall portions 51 have upwardly opening slots 54 for respectively receiving the pivot pins 52, and the inner edges 55 of the wall portions 51 form abutments for engagement with cooperating abutments 56 formed by the outer edges of the side walls of the sleeve 31. The construction is such that the valve 46 moves as a unit with the spout 36 to maintain the discharge opening 45 closed during the interval the valve 25 is opened by initial inward movement of the spout. After the valve 25 is opened, the inner edges 55 of the side walls 51 of the hood 47 engage the abutments 56 on the sleeve 31 to swing the hood 47 against the action of the spring 53 to open the valve 46.

When the inward force applied to the spout 36 is released, the spout is moved outwardly by the spring 30 and the arrangement is such that the outlet opening 22 is immediately closed by the valve 25. However, the discharge opening 45 remains open for a short period sufiicient to drain the spout 36 and is closed by the spring 53 as the spout approaches its outermost position shown in Figure 2. In the present instance the spout 36 has a container positioning pad or bearing element 58 depending from the outer end thereof directly below the discharge opening 45 and the recess formed by the insert 16 is of sufficient dimension to receive a container of generous size. In operation, a container is engaged with 36, nevertheless, such coiled part the pad 58 to locate the mouth of the container directly below the discharge opening 45 and the container is shifted inwardly to impart a corresponding movement to the spout 36.

As shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the insert 16 is fashioned with an upwardly opening pocket 59 at the bottom for receiving a cup 60. The cup 66 is positioned to receive any liquid dripping from the discharge opena ing 45 and is readily removable from the pocket to enable emptying the same when necessary. All of the parts of the dispensing device with the exception of the springs may be and preferably are molded or otherwise formed of a plastic material, although metal may be used if desired.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a refrigerator cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therethrough, a source of liquid supported within the cabinet and having an outlet opening for the liquid, a first valve member for normally closing the outlet opening, a spout extending through the opening in said wall and supported for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly with respect to said wall, the inner end of the spout registering with the liquid outlet opening to receive liquid from said source, the portion of the spout at the outer side of the wall having a discharge opening, a second valve member normally closing the discharge opening, and means responsive to sliding movement of the spout in an inward direction to successively open the first and second valve members.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 including a bearing element depending from the outer end of the spout to position a receptacle directly below the discharge opening and movable inwardly by displacement of the receptacle in an inward direction to successively open the first and second valves aforesaid.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 including spring means for biasing the valve members to their respective closed positions and for returning the spout to its outermost position upon releasing the receptacle from the bearing element.

4. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein the discharge opening is positioned at an elevation below the liquid outlet opening and wherein the spout has a trough inclined downwardly from the inner end to the outer end.

5. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein the source of liquid is in the form of a receptacle supported within the cabinet with the bottom wall spaced above the inner end of the spout and wherein the outlet opening is formed in the bottom wall of the receptacle in a position to open into the inner end of the spout.

6. The structure defined in claim 5 wherein the first valve member is mounted on the receptacle for move ment into and out of sealing engagement with the outlet opening in response to sliding movement of the spout in opposite directions.

7. The structure defined in claim 6 including a spring for biasing the first valve member to its closed position, and an abutment on the first valve member positioned for engagement by the spout upon inward movement of the spout to open the first valve.

8. In a refrigerator cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therethrough, a source of liquid supported within the cabinet and having an outlet opening for the liquid, a valve element normally closing said outlet opening, a spout supported in the wall opening for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly with respect to the wall, the inner end of the spout being positioned directly below the outlet opening for receiving liquid discharged from the outlet opening, the end of the spout at the outer side of the wall having a discharge opening, a bearing element carried by the spout at the outer side of said wall engageable by a receptacle for moving the spout inwardly, and a valve member normally closing the discharge opening and responsive to inward movementof the spout to open the discharge opening;

. 9. The structure definedin claim 8 wherein the valve member is pivoted on. the spout and is biased to: itsclosed position with respect to the discharge opening, and means fixed against movement with the. spout and engageable by the valve member to swing the latter to its open position in response to inward sliding movement of the spout.

10. In a refrigerator cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therethrough, a source of liquid supported within the cabinet and having. an outlet opening fortheliquid, a valve element normally closing said outlet opening, a spout supported in the wall opening for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly with respect to the wall, the inner end of the spout being positioned directly below the outlet opening for receiving liquid discharged from the outlet opening, the end of the spout at the outer side of the wall having a discharge opening, a valve member pivoted on the spout at the outer end of the latter and biased to its closed position with respect to the discharge opening, a sleeve extending through said wall and slidably supporting the spout, and means on the sleeve engageable by the valve member to swing the latter to its open position upon inward sliding movement of the spout relative to the sleeve.

11. In a refrigerator cabinet having an access opening and having a door for the access opening, a receptacle for liquid supported on the door at the inner side thereof and having an outlet opening in the bottom wall, a first valve member pivoted on the receptacle and biased to its closed position with respect to the outlet opening, a spout slidably supported in an opening through the door and having the inner end extending beneath the outlet opening for receiving liquid discharged from the latter, said spout registering with the outlet opening throughout its sliding movement and having a discharge opening at the outer end beyond the outer surface of the door, a second valve member pivoted on the outer end of the spout and normally closing the discharge opening, means operated by the spout upon initial inward movement thereof to open the first valve member, and means responsive to continued inward movement of the spout to subsequently open the second valve member.

12. The structure defined in claim 11 wherein said first valve member closes prior to closing of the second valve member upon outward sliding movement of the spout.

13. The structure defined in claim 11 including a sleeve fixed to the door and extending through said door for slidably supporting the spout, and a bearing plate depending from the outer end of the spout directly beneath the discharge opening for engagement by a receptacle to move the spout inwardly.

14. The structure defined in claim 11 including an insert extending into the door from the outer side thereof and providing a recess for the outer end of the spout and second valve member.

15. The structure defined in claim 14 wherein the recess is of sufiicient size to receive a receptacle and wherein a drip cup is removably supported by the insert at the bottom of the recess.

16. In a refrigerator cabinet with an opening therethrough, a source of liquid supported at the inner side of the wall and having an outlet opening for the liquid, a spout extending through and supported in the wall opening for sliding movement inwardly and outwardly with respect to said wall, said spout having an elongated upwardly opening trough registering with the liquid outlet opening throughout the sliding movement of the spout and provided upon the outer side of said wall with a discharge opening, the bottom wall of the trough being inclined downwardly and outwardly to having a wall provided provide for gravity flow of the liquid outwardly along the trough and through the discharge opening, a first valve member for closing the outlet opening, and a second valve member for closing the discharge opening.

17. The structure defined in claim 16 including means for sequentially operating the valve members in response to. sliding movement of the spout relative to said wall.

18. The structure defined in claim 16 including a part fixed relative to said wall, spring means carried by the spout and engageable with said part to limit outward sliding movement of the spout relative to the wall, and said spring means being displaceable by said part in response to shifting movement of the spout in either of said directions to permit assembly and disassembly of said spout.

19. In a refrigerator cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therethrough, a source of liquid supported at the inner side of the wall and having an outlet opening for the liquid, a spout extending through and supported in the wall opening for sliding movement in wardly and outwardly with respect to said wall, said spout having an elongated upwardly opening trough registering with the liquid outlet opening throughout the sliding movement of the spout and provided upon the outer side of said wall with a discharge opening, the bottom wall of the trough being inclined downwardly and outwardly to provide for gravity flow of the liquid outwardly along the trough and through the discharge opening, a first valve member for closing the outlet opening and movable to its open position by the spout upon inward movement of the latter, a second valve member for closing the discharge opening and movable to its open position in response to inward movement of the spout, and spring means for biasing said valve members to their respective closed positions.

20. In combination, a cabinet door, a liquid container upon the inner side of said door and having a liquid outlet, means for receiving liquid from said outlet and conducting it to the exterior of said door, said means being movable transversely of said door, a valve controlling said liquid outlet, and means operable in response to movement of said liquid receiving means transversely of said door for operating said valve.

21. In combination, a cabinet door, a liquid container upon the inner side of said door and having a liquid outlet, means for receiving liquid from said outlet and conducting it to the exterior of said door, said means being movable relative to said door and provided upon the exterior thereof with a liquid discharge opening, a valve controlling said liquid outlet, a valve controlling said liquid discharge opening, and means for operating said valves in response to movement of said liquid receiving means relative to said door.

22. A liquid dispensing unit mounted on a refrigerator or like cabinet to dispense liquid from a supply means in said cabinet through an opening in the latter to the exterior of said cabinet, comprising a first valve member controlling flow of liquid from said supply means to said opening, a second valve member controlling flow of liquid through said opening to the cabinet exterior, and a member directly actuable from said exterior and movable in opposite directions through said opening to operate both said valves, said last named member comprising a spout through which the liquid is discharged to the exterior.

23. A liquid dispensing unit mounted on a refrigerator or like cabinet to dispense liquid from a supply means in said cabinet through an opening in the latter to the exterior of said cabinet, comprising a first valve member controlling flow of liquid from said supply means to said opening, a second valve member controlling flow of liquid through said opening to the cabinet exterior, and a member directly actuable from said exterior and movable in opposite directions through said opening to operate both said valves, said last named member comprising a spout through which the liquid is discharged to the exterior, said second valve being movably mounted on said spout.

24. A refrigerator or like cabinet structure having a liquid supply means therein and an opening to the exterior of the structure, a valve controlling flow of liquid from said supply means to the exterior, and a liquid transmitting spout member mounted for movement in said opening, said spout member receiving and transmitting liquid from said supply means to the exterior and being movable to engage and open said valve.

25. A structure in accordance with claim 24 in which said valve controls the flow of liquid from said supply means to said spout member.

26. A structure in accordance with claim 24 in which said spout member is actuable from the exterior of said structure and in which said valve controls the flow of liquid from said supply means to said spout member.

27. A structure in accordance with claim 24 in which said spout member is provided upon the exterior of the structure with a discharge opening, and a second valve controls the flow of liquid from said discharge opening.

28. A structure in accordance with claim 24 in which said spout member is provided upon the exterior of the structure with a discharge opening, and a second valve is mounted on said spout member and controls the flow of liquid from said discharge opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Sundberg June 20, 1950 

